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Some  Information 


In  Regard  to  the 


Illinois  State 
Capitol 


Compiled  by 

LOUIS  L.  KMMKRSON, 
Secretary  of  State 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  01 1 2 1 22620005 


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Schxkpi*  &  n.\nx.'-:s.  StatL  Phintkrs 
Si'rin'gpikij),  III. 


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APiHS 

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* 


INTRODUCTORY. 

(Louis  L.  Emmerson,  Secretary  of 
State,  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Jessie  Paiaier 
Weber,  Secretary  Illinois  Centennial 
Commission,  for  the  descriptive  matter 
contained  in  this  booklet  > 


4 


\ 

i 


9 


THE  ILLINOIS  STATE 
CAPITOL  BUILDING. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  M  or  of 
the  Rebellion  the  capitol  building  or 
State  House  of  Illinois  was  found  to  be 
inadequate  for  the  needs  of  the  rapidly 
growing  state  and  on  February  25.  ISti. 
the  Twenty-fifth  General  Assembly  passed 
an  act  authorizing  the  erection  of  a  new 
State  House. 

This  act  axtthorized  the  Governor  to 
convey  to  the  County  of  Sangamon  and 
the  City  of  Springfield  the  old  capitol 
building  and  grounds.  This  building  is 
now  the  Sangamon  County  Court  House 
and  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  public 
square  of  the  city  of  Springfield.  The 
consideration  received  by  the  State  for 
the  old  capitol  was  two  hundred  thous¬ 
and  <$200,0001  dollars  and  the  site  for 
the  erection  of  the  new  Capitol.  The  act 
limited  the  cost  to  three  million  ($3,000.- 
000)  dollars.  On  March  11,  ISOS  ground 
w  as  broken  for  the  new  building.  I  he 
corner  stone  was  laid  October  5,  1S6S,  on 
which,  occasion  Judge  John  D.  Oaton 
delivered  the  principal  address. 

The  first  board  of  State  House  Commis¬ 
sioners  was  appointed  by  Gov  Richard  J. 
Oglesby,  and  consisted  of  seven  members. 
They  were  John  W.  Smith,  John  J.  S. 
Wilson.  Philip  Wadsworth,  Janies  C.  Rob¬ 
inson,  William  T.  Yandeveer,  William  1-. 
Hambleton,  and  James  H.  Beveridge.  Mr. 
John  J.  S.  Wilson  did  not  long  remain  on 
the  Board  and  Jacob  Bunn  was  appointed 
in  his  place.  On  the  organization  of  the 
Board  Mr.  Bunn  was  elected  its  Chair¬ 
man.  The  last  Board  of  State  House 


ILLINOIS  STATE  LIBRARY 


1129  00494  1803 


4 


Commissioners  appointed  in  1885  by  Gov 
Richard  J.  Oglesby,  who  had  been  for  tht 
third  time  elected  governor  of  Illinois, 
consisted  of  George  Kirk,  William  Javm 
aud  John  McCreery,  and  these  gentlemen 
directed  the  expenditure  of  the  last  ap 
propriation  and  the  completion  of  the 
building. 

A  prize  of  three  thousand  ($3,009) 
dollars  was  offered  by  the  commission  in 
1807  for  the  best  design  for  the  eapitol 
building.  Twenty-one  designs  were  re¬ 
ceived.  The  design  submitted  by  John  C. 
Cochrane  of  Chicago  was  chosen  on  July 
2,  1867  and  Mr.  Cochrane  'was  appointed 
as  architect  and  superintendent  for  the 
construction  of  the  building.  For  this 
work  his  compensation  was  fixed  at  two 
and  a  half  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  the 
building. 

W.  D.  Clark,  Alfred  H.  Piquenard,  \1. 
E.  Bell  and  W.  W.  Boyington  were  also 
employed  in  the  architectural  work  of 
the  erection  of  the  eapitol  building  at  dif¬ 
ferent  times  during  the  period  of  its  con¬ 
struction. 

In  September  1869  the  foundation  was 
completed. 

In  1876  the  building  was  first  occupied, 
though  in  an  unfinished  condition.  John 
L.  Beveridge  was  governor  at  that  time. 

In  3885  the  final  appropriation  was 
made  and  the  building  was  completed  in 
1888,  twenty -one  years  after  its  erection 
was  authorized  by  the  General  Assembly. 

The  entire  cost  of  the  building  has  been 
nearly  four  and  a  half  million  ($4,500,- 
000)  dollars.  The  limit  of  the  cost  had 
been  fixed  by  the  Constitution  of  1870  at 
three  and  a  half  million  ($3,500,000)  dol¬ 
lars.  Appropriations  by  the  General  As¬ 
sembly  exceeding  this  amount  required  a 
vote  of  approval  by  the  people  of  the 
State.  In  November  1877  the  people  by 


5 


their  vote  refused  to  sanction  an  appro¬ 
priation'  for  the  completion  of  the  capitol. 
At  the  election  of  1882  the  people  again 
refused  their  approval  of  an  appropria¬ 
tion  for  this  purpose.  In  1884  the  people 
of  the  State  by  their  vote  approved  an 
appropriation  to  complete  the  building, 
and  the  work  was  carried  to  completion. 

The  Illinois  State  Capitol  Building  is  in 
the  form  of  a  Latin  cross.  It  is  situated 
in  a  plot  of  ground  eight  and  one-half 
acres  in  extent.  The  building  faces  east, 
and  looks  down  Capitol  Avenue. 

The  present  Capitol  grounds  are 
bounded  on  the  east  by  Second  Street, 
on  the  north  by  Monroe  Street,  on  the 
west  by  Spring  Street,  and  on  the  south 
by  Charles  Street.  When  the  Centennial 
Memorial  Building  is  erected  on  ground 
directly  south  of  the  Capitol,  and  now 
owned  by  the  State,  Charles  Street  will 
probably  be  made  a  part  of  the  Capitol 
grounds  and  no  longer  used  as  a  public 
street. 

The  State  House  is  of  the  composite 
order  of  architecture.  The  circular 
foundation  upon  which  the  great  dome 
of  the  Capitol  rests  is  ninety-two  and  a 
half  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  twenty-tive 
arui  a  half  feet  below  the  grade  line, 
based  upon  the  solid  rock.  The  walls 
supporting  the  dome  are  seventeen  feet 
in  thickness  from  the  foundation  to  the 
floor  of  the  first  story.  The  foundation 
walls  are  built  of  granular  magnesian 
limestone  which  was  obtained  from  the 
Sonora  quarries  of  Hancock  County,  Illi¬ 
nois.  The  foundation  for  the  outer  walls 
is  from  eleven  to  sixteen  feet  thick  below 
the  grade  line,  and  nine  feet  thick  up  to 
the  first  floor.  The  outer  walls  of  the 
superstructure  are  constructed  of  Niagara 
limestone  the  lower  story  from  the  Joliet 
quarries,  and  the  upper  stories  from  the 
quarries  at  Lemont. 


6 


The  extreme  length  of  the  building 
from  north  to  south  is  three  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  (379)  feet,  and  from  east  to 
west  two  hundred  and  sixtv-eight  ( 2t>S  > 
feet.  The  height  from  the  ground  line  to 
the  top  of  the  dome  is  three  hundred  and 
sixty-one  C’.bt  >  feet,  and  to  tip  of  flag 
staff  four  hundred  and  tive  (40r>>  feet. 

As  the  Capitol  is  approached  from  the 
east,  at  the  entrance  of  the  grounds  is 
situated  the  statue  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
This  represents  Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  time 
of  leaving  Springfield  to  assume  his 
duties  in  Washington.  February  It.  1*<U. 
It  is  of  bronze,  is  ten  feet  and  six  inches 
in  height.  It  is  on  a  granite  base  with  a 
large  granite  slab  as  a  background.  Oil 
the  reverse  side  of  this  slab  is  carved 
Lincoln's  Farewell  Address  to  his  neigh¬ 
bor^.  The  sculptor  is  Andrew  O'Connor. 
The  statue,  with  its  na^e  cost  when  com¬ 
pleted.  fifty  thousand  I  1)00  >  dollars. 
It  will  be  dedicated  October  5.  10 is  as  a 
part  of  the  State's  Centennial  observance. 

To  the  north  of  the  Lincoln  statue,  or 
at  the  left  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  placed  the 
bronze  statue  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
The  sculptor  of  this  statue  is  Gilbert  P. 
Riswold  of  Chicago.  Its  entire  cost  was 
ten  thousand  LSto.ooo  c  dollars.  It  will 
also  l>e  dedicated  October  5.  tOLv 

At  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the 
present  rapitol  grounds  is  situated  a 
statue  of  Pierre  Menard  first  Lieutenant- 
governor  of  Illinois.  Pierre  Menard  was 
an  Indian  trailer  and  enjoyed  the  confi¬ 
dence  of  his  Red  Brothers.  The  statue 
represents  Menard  in  the  act  of  trading 
with  Indians  Thi;  bronze  statue  is  the 
gift,  to  Illinois  of  Mr.  Charles  P.  Choteati 
of  St.  Louis,  whose  father  was  a  friend 
and  business  associate  of  Menard.  The 
statue  was  dedicated.  January  lo,  r<Ss. 

Entering  the  Capitol  building  from  the 
east  one  conies  under  the  magnificent 


7 


port  ico.  The  nase  of  the  portico  is  of 
limestone  which  forms  a  support  for  a 
row  of  ten  huge  polished  granite  pillars, 
with  Corinthian  capitals  of  stone.  These 
in  turn  support  the  Corinthian  gable 
of  the  building  which  is  of  solid  stone. 
The  entire  interior  decoration  of  the 
building  is  of  the  French  Renaissance 
style.  On  entering  the  east  corridor  one 
immediately  is  attracted  by  the  mural 
decorations,  which  were  at  the  time 
when  they  were  placed,  considered  line 
specimens  of  such  work.  A  wainscot 
of  marble  about  six  leet  in  height  runs 
all  around  the  lower  corridors.  These 
mural  paintings  depict  mythological  per¬ 
sonage-  or  noted  scenes  or  persons  of 
Illinois  history.  They  were  the  work  of 
the  Phillipson  Decorating  Company  of 
Chicago. 

EAST  CORRIDOR. 

First  Floor. 

The  ceiling  is  divided  into  four  panels. 
The  figure  in  the  one  immediately  east 
of  the  center  is  "Charity”.  She  holds 
the  horn  of  plenty  and  is  distributing 
her  wealth  with  impartial  hand.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  cent*  r  panels  are 
“Hope”  and  "Faith’’,  both  in  conventional 
design.  Hope  leaning  on  an  Anchor  and 
gazing  far  out  upon  the  sea,  Charity 
holding  oti  her  right  arm  the  cross.  The 
center  panel  is  decorated  with  renais¬ 
sance  ornaments,  the  chiet  features  of 
which  are  four  cupids,  one  in  each 
corner,  supporting  the  1  nited  States 
coat  of  arms. 

FIRST  FLOOR. 

Center. 

At  the  intersection  of  the  corridor 
stands  a  bronze  female  figure  of  heroic 


8 


size,  representing  “Illinois  welcoming 
the  World.”  This  was  designed  for  and 
exhibited  at  the  World’s  Columbian  Ex¬ 
position  at  Chicago  in  1893.  This  piece 
of  statuary  was  placed  on  exhibition  by 
the  Woman’s  Exposition  Committee  dur¬ 
ing  the  Exposition,  in  the  Illinois  Build¬ 
ing,  and  was  transferred  to  the  State 
House  after  the  close  of  the  Fair.  The 
sculptor  was  Miss  Julia  M.  Bracken  of 
Jo  Daviess  County,  Illinois. 

FIRST  FLOOR. 

North  Corridor. 

MURAL  PAINTINGS. 

Right  hand  entering  from  the  north. 

I.  Starved  Rock  on  the  Illinois  River 
near  Ottawa. 

II.  Fort  Chartres  on  Mississippi  River 
near  Prairie  du  Rocher,  erected  1720. 

III.  General  Grant  taking  the  com¬ 
mand  at  Cairo. 

FIRST  FLOOR. 

South  Corridor. 

MURAL  PAINTINGS. 

EIGHT  H  \M>  GOING  SO l'TU. 

I.  Fort  .Dearborn,  mouth  of  Chicago 
River. 

II.  Governor  Coles  freeing  his  slaves 
on  the  Ohio  River. 

LEFT  HAND  SIDE. 

III.  Lincoln.  Offut  and  Green  on  Flat 
Boat  at  New  Salem. 

IV'.  New  Salem. 

V.  Marquette  and  Joliet  at  Indian  vil¬ 
lage  on  DesPlaines  River  near  Joliet, 
1673. 

WEST  CORRIDOR. 

First  Floor. 

The  main  feature  of  this  part  of  the 
lower  structure  is  the  grand  stairway, 


9 


made  of  solid  marble  with  a  frame 
work  of  iron.  The  ceiling  of  the  west 
wing  is  a  succession  of  arches  and 
panels  and  is  decorated  with  fresco 
paintings,  with  an  oriental  tinge  in 
shades  of  red  and  gold.  Plastic  relief 
in  metal  effects  heightens  the  beauty  of 
the  side  wall  decorations. 

Second  Floor,  or  Executive  Floor. 

Large  painting  of  George  Rogers  Clark 
making  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  1778. 

This  floor  is  reached  by  means  of  two 
large  passenger  elevators,  and  the  fea¬ 
ture  which  at  once  strikes  the  eye  in 
landing  is  the  huge  painting  at  the  head 
of  the  grand  marble  stairway.  It  is 
20x40  feet  in  size  and  the  figures  in  the 
foreground  are  ten  feet  in  height.  Al¬ 
though  it  has  been  severely  criticized 
by  many,  it  is  nevertheless  a  magnificent 
piece  of  work.  It  represents  George 
Rogers  Clark  before  Fort  Kaskaskia, 
engaged  in  making  a  treaty  with  the 
Indians  in  July,  177S.  The  work  on  tins 
painting  was  done  :n  part  by  a  painter 
named  G.  A.  Fuchs,  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  William  Phillipson.  It  can  be 
best  seen  from  the  third  floor. 

East  Corridor. 

The  principal  features  of  the  side  walls 
of  the  second  or  executive  floor  are  four 
panel  pictures  some  twelve  feet  by  five 
feet  in  size,  executed  by  Matt  Morgan  of 
Cincinnati.  They  represent  “Art”,  “Lit¬ 
erature”,  “Peace”  and  “War”.  They  are 
painted  on  copper  colored  bronze  back¬ 
ground,  and  are  all  of  female  figures, 
with  the  conventional  insignia  of  their 
respective  allegorical  characters. 

The  floor  of  this  east  wing  is  of  marble 
flagging  and  a  three-foot  marble  wains- 


10 

cot  extends  around  the  side  walls, 
making  a  base  lor  marble  shafts  sup¬ 
porting  the  ceiling.  Of  the  north  and 
south  wings  of  this  tloor  but  little  can  be 
said,  except  that  they  are  decorated  in 
French  Renaissance  frescoe  designs. 

SOUTH  CORRIDOR. 
Second  Floor. 

Old  Supreme  Court  Room.  Now  Public 
Utilities  quarters.  Mural  decorations  on 
the  ceiling,  the  work  of  Moretti.  of  the 
tirm  of  Miragoli  Moretti,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
The  principal  figure  represents  the  God¬ 
dess  of  Justice,  heroic  size,  seated  on  a 
forum,  a  table  of  the  law  on  the  left  hand, 
sword  in  the  right.  One  foot,  protruding 
from  the  drapery,  is  bare,  and  trampling 
upon  gold  pieces  from  a  cornucopia  in¬ 
dicates  that  Justice  is  not  bought;  a 
quiver  of  arrows  at  her  feet.  Two  little 
cherubs — one  holding  a  book  of  the  law. 
the  other  the  National  Flag — balance 
the  representation  of  the  Goddess.  In  the 
dim  perspective  is  the  reproduction  of 
the  Capitol. 

WEST  CORRIDOR. 

Second  Floor. 

Plaster  statues  in  nicin  s  in  rotunda. 

Abraham  Lincoln. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas. 

John  Wood.  This  statue  was  the  gift 
of  the  people  of  the  city  of  Quincy,  Illi¬ 
nois.  Governor  Wood  having  been  a  resi¬ 
dent  of  that  city.  The  statue  is  the 
work  of  Leonard  Volk. 

THE  ROTUNDA. 

The  rerun  la  from  rho  second  door  is 
formed  of  a  succession  of  marble,  granite 
ae  1  bronze.  Doth  the  second  and  third 


11 


floors  are  encircled  with  balustrades  of 
electric  plate  iron,  with  heavy  brass 
rails.  This  treatment  of  stone,  marble 
and  granite  is  carried  to  a  height  of 
eighty  feet,  until  it  reaches  a  huge  frieze 
of  about  forty  feet  In  height,  completely 
encircling  the  dome. 

THIRD  FLOOR. 

The  frieze,  in  plastic  relief  in  imitation 
of  bronze,  represents  the  progress  of 
Civilization,  or  the  migrations  of  the 
pioneer.  The  sculptor  was  F.  Nicolai. 
Beginning  at  the  west  side,  the  scenes 
in  relief  represent: 

1.  The  first  panel  represents  a  trader’s 
habitation  and  the  trader  himself  bar 
gaining  for  some  hides  with  the  savages. 
The  brave  housewife  is  near  the  door 
and  completes  the  picture  of  the  earliest 
pioneer  life. 

2.  Tim  cabin  is  again  represented  wirh 
the  wife  and  children  near  it.  while  the 
husband  is  starting  forth  to  his  daily 
toil,  driving  a  team  of  yoked  oxen,  while 
a  band  of  Indians  Turk  behind  a  grmp 
of  trees  and  with  drawn  bows  threaten 
his  life. 

3.  The  third  panel  of  the  frieze  shows 
a  stockade  for  with  its  outside  sentinels, 
while  a  group  of  settlers  are  ruling  in 
from  their  homes,  seeking  protection 
from  the  depredations  of  the  Indians. 

4.  This  pane!  represents  a  group  of 
four  settlers  in  the  midst  of  an  Indian 
camp,  ostensibly  there  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  treaty  with  the  savage 
warriors. 

5.  This  panel  represents  real  Indian 
border  warfare.  The  pioneers  on  foot  and 
in  the  saddle  are  charging  at  full  speed 
upon  a  band  of  ambushed  red  men.  who 
are  fighting  for  Iif«  and  receiving  swarms 
of  recruits  on  horses.  There  is  much 
vigor  in  the  picture,  and  the  settlers  are 


12 


•epresented  as  getting  the  better  of  their 
mponents. 

This  panel  shows  the  surrender  of 
Black  Hawk  at  Prairie  du  Chien  and 
•'•ho ws  the  Indians  submitting  a  truce. 
Their  chief  is  in  the  center  speaking  to 
the  commanding  officer,  while  followers 
of  each  await  the  outcome  of  the 

meeting.  ,  __ 

7.  The  interior  of  a  primitive  meeting 

house  or  church.  The  minister  is  ex¬ 
horting  and  the  congregation  in  shaker 
bonnets  and  quaint  old  clothes  is  listen¬ 
ing  in  rapt  attention.  (Minister  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  Peter  Cartwright.) 

8.  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  writh 
Patrick  "  Henry  as  the  central  figure, 
making  his  memorable  address,  and 
Washington  and  Richard  Henry  Lee 
among  his  attentive  auditors. 

*)  Lincoln  and  Douglas  debate.  This 
relief  probably  represents  the  Lincoln- 
DmusU»*  debate  »t  Gatesburs  Octeber  .. 
1ST, 8.  the  fifth  in  the  series  of  the  im- 
mortal  seven  Joint  debates  between 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  Senator  Douglas. 

There  are  twenty  figures.  The  key  or 
explanation  of  the  relief  has  been  lost, 
blit  it  is  believed  that  the  following  in¬ 
complete  list  of  men  is  approximately 
correct.  Captain  A.  W.  Jerome,  who  was 
long  employed  in  the  Capitol  building, 
made  a  study  of  this  scene,  and  trorn  the 
evidence  which  he  could  secure 
made  up  the  list  as  here  given: 

I  .eft  to  right— No.  L  Leonard  Swett; 

No.  2.  Ozias  Hatch:  No.  •’>.  -  ^  ~ 

No  4.  Lvman  Trumbull:  No. 

1J _ -  No.  6.  William  Butler:  No.  7. 

_ _ * _ _ :  No.  S. - -  - - 

th  John  M.  Palmer:  No  10  Jesse  K. 
Dubois:  No.  1L  Stephen  T.  Logan,  No. 
12  Abraham  Lincoln:  No.  13.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas:  No.  14. - - - :  No  1;>* 


IS 


\ 


- ;  No.  16, - ;  Xo. 

17,  David  I  avis;  No.  IS, - ; 

No.  19,  Anthony  Thornton;  No.  20,  negro 
slave. 

This  heavy  frieze  is  supported  by  broad 
bands  of  relief  ornaments  in  the  French 
renaissance  style,  slightly  tinged  with 
the  Grecian  in  solid  bronzes  and  antique 
colorings.  It  is  surmounted  by  a  succes¬ 
sion  of  highly  decorated  mouldings  car¬ 
ried  to  the  height  of  some  twenty  feet 
in  steel  colored  effects,  which  furnishes 
a  foundation  for  a  colonnade  and  also 
for  a  succession  of  twenty-four  columns 
supporting, 

THE  UPPER  DOME. 

The  columns  are  sixty  feet  high  and 
four  feet  in  diameter,  in  imitation  of 
Sieqna  marble,  with  vases  and  capitals 
in  imitation  of  antique  bronze.  The  upper 
dome  is  built  inside  of  galvanized  iron, 
decarcted  and  panelled  with  relief  orna¬ 
ments,  all  of  which  are  treated  in  atmos¬ 
pheric  colors  to  give  distance  to  a  struc¬ 
ture  already  reaching  to  the  height  of 
over  two  hundred  feet.  Blue  and  gold 
are  the  predominating  colors.  The  im¬ 
mediate  center  and  extreme  point  of  the 
dome  is  about  fourteen  teet  in  diameter 
and  is  finished  with  stained  glass,  on 
which  1  he  principal  design  of  ornamenta¬ 
tion  is  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  State  of 
Illinois.  The  dome  decorations  are 
arranged  in  a  manner  to  show  both  its 
gigantic  proportions  and  its  enormous 
height. 

The  contractor  for  the  decorations  of 
the  dome  and  the  lower  corridor  was  the 
Phillipson  Decorative  Company  of  Chi¬ 
cago.  and  the  work  was  done  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  Mr.  William 
Phillipson.  Mitchell  £  Hoi  bach  of  Chi¬ 
cago  were  the  contractors  for  the  work 
on  the  executive  floor. 


14 


BRONZE  STATUES  ON  THE 
CORBELS. 


Or  Pedestals  in  the  Dome.  Below 
the  Frieze  Just  Described. 

There  was  much  discussion  at  the  t ime 
of  the  selection  of  the  individuals  to  be 
so  honored.  The  State  House  Commis¬ 
sion  finally  selected  the  following  eight 
men  distinguished  in  the  annals  o*.  Ilii- 


nois:  .  , 

1.  Ninian  Edwards,  Territorial  Gover¬ 
nor  of  Illinois. 

2.  Shadrach  Bond,  first  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Illinois, 

3.  Edward  Coles,  second  Governor  oi 

the  State  of  Illinois, 

4.  Sidney  Breese,  Justice  of  the  Mate 
Supreme  Court  and  United  States  Sena- 

5.  Lyman  Trumbull,  United  States  Sen- 


6*  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  the  greatest  of  the 
State's  soldiers. 

7.  Gen.  John  A.  lx>gan,  distinguished 
volunteer  soldier  and  United  States  Sen¬ 
ator. 

8.  William  R.  Morrison,  soldier  and 


congressman. 

The  first  statue  placed  was  that  of 
Colonel  Morrison,  on  September  4,  188... 
The  others  were  placed  during  the  follow¬ 
ing  three  months.  These  eight  statues 
cost  fen  thousand  <$ltf.Oo(i)  dollars.  The 
artists  who  designed  the  figures  were: 
Peter  E.  Poli,  Edward  Guitink  and  Wil¬ 
liam  Mali  of*  Chicago.  The  statues  were 
cast  in  New  York  from  designs  furnished 
by  these  artists. 

Recently,  <19181  between  these  statues, 
mural  decorations  have  been  painted  by 
G.  H.  Schanbacher  of  Springfield.  Illinois. 
These  paintings  represent  the  State  Seal 
of  Illinois  with  the  blue  and  white  Cen- 


15 


tennial  banner  on  the  shield.  This  ban¬ 
ner  was  designed  hv  Wallace  Rice  of  Chi¬ 
cago.  It  is  a  llag  with  two  white  stripes 
and  a  centre  stripe  of  blue.  On  each  of 
the  white  stripes  are  ten  blue  stars,  rep¬ 
resenting  the  ten  northern  and  the  ten 
southern  states.  On  the  blue  stripe  is  a 
large  white  star  representing  Illinois  the 
twenty-first  state,  the  central  or  pivotal 
state,  Illinois  being  the  twenty-first  state 
in  ttfe  order  of  its  admission  to  the 
Tin  ion. 

THIRD  FLOOR. 

Mural  paintings  have  recently  been 
placed  on  the  walls  of  this  floor.  They 
are: 

“Industry.”  South  alcove  over  entrance 
House  of  Representatives. 

“Commerce.”  North  alcove  over  en¬ 
trance  Senate  Chamber. 

“Agriculture.”  East  wall. 

These  paintings  are  the  work  of 
Robert  W.  Grafton  of  Chicago. 

Picture  —  Grand  Stairway  —  GEORGE 
ROGERS  CLARK.  TREATY  WITH  THE 
INDIANS.  Described  on  page  9. 

The  third  floor  is  the  Legislative  floor, 
and  contains  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  and  the  Senate  Chamber  with  their 
necessary  o Hir  es.  The  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives  is  on  t  lit  south  side,  the  Sen¬ 
ate  Chamber  on  the  north.  Oil  portraits 
of  Lincoln  and  Douglas  hang  on  the 
walls,  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
They  are  the  work  of  A.  E.  Darling,  a 
noted  portrait  painter.  They  cost  one 
thousand  ($1,000)  each. 

The  west  wing  is  occupied  by  the  State 
Library,  a  magnificent  room  of  splendid 
proportions.  Its  bookstacks  with  fronts 
of  real  bronze  are  ornamented  with  the 
portraits  of  American  authors  in  relief. 
On  the  north  wall  of  the  main  library 
room  is  a  relief  placque-  in  bronze  rep  re- 


16 


senting  an  ItiipBCls  ranger  or  soldier  of 
the  Territorial  period,  1809-1S18.  This 
tablet  was  erected  by  the  State  of  Illinois 
to  the  memory  of  the  Illinois  Rangers 
and  soldiers  of  the  War  of  1812.  The 
sculptor  is  Miss  Nelly  Walker  of  Chi¬ 
cago.  The  Legislature  anpropriated 
twelve  hundred  dollars  ($1,200)  for  this 
tablet.  It  was  dedicated  January  12, 
1915.  The  Illinois  Daughters  of  1812  had 
charge  of  the  dedicatory  exercises. 

Full  length  portraits  of  General  Wash¬ 
ington  and  of  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette 
painted  by  J.  W.  Berry  hang  on  the  walls 
of  the  Library. 

In  the  east  wing  is  the  Illinois  State 
Historical  Library,  which  contains  the 
State’s  collection  of  material  relating  to 
State  history  and  to  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  other  great  men  of  Illinois.  The 
main  Library  room  contains  a  most 
interesting  collection  of  Lincoln  por¬ 
traits,  books  and  pamphlets. 

During  the  past  year  tne  unfinished 
space  in  the  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  floors 
of  the  building  has  been  finished  and 
converted  into  excellent  office  rooms. 

When  the  Capitol  building  was  erected 
it  was  considered  so  large  as  to  bo  en¬ 
tirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  need;  of 
the  State.  At  the  close  of  the  first  half 
'•eutury  of  its  existence,  and  after  forty- 
two  years  of  actual  use,  it  is  so  over¬ 
crowded  that  the  Supreme  Court  build¬ 
ing  recently  constructed  and  the  con-! 
templated  Centennial  Memorial  building 
are  actually  needed  to  carry  on  con¬ 
veniently  and  efficiently  the  work  of  the 
various  activities  of  the  executive  de¬ 
partments  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

During  the  year  1918  the  entire  Capitol 
building  has  been  cleaned  and  redeco¬ 
rated,  under  the  supervision  of  Louis  L. 
Emmerson,  Secretary  of  State,  and  the 
building  now  presents  a  splendid  ap 
pearance. 


